A fiery Dustin May had a solid start and JJ Wetherholt continued his on-base assault while Nathan Church flexed unexpected power as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins Tuesday night.
It only took 4 pitches before JJ Wetherholt was on base as he ripped a 1st inning double to start the game. After Ivan Herrera struck out, Alec Burleson picked him up with a single to center that scored Wetherholt making i 1-0 Cardinals.
The Miami Marlins responded in the bottom of the 1st inning when Jakob
Marsee hit a home run that hit the foam padding above the right field wall which was ruled a home run after an umpires review. Honorable mention goes to Jordan Walker, though, as he rifled the ball in from right field that would have nailed Marsee at third base if the umps hadn’t ruled the ball a home run.
The Cardinals would score again in the top of the 3rd inning when JJ Wetherholt walked and then advanced to third on a hit-and-run from Ivan Herrera. He would then score as his speed forced an errant throw by Connor Narby which sailed above the catcher making it 2-1 Cardinals.
St. Louis would extend the lead in the top of the 4th inning when Masyn Winn singled and scored on a long blast by Nathan Church making it 4-1 Cardinals.
Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman helped the Cardinals add to their lead in the top of the 5th inning as Burleson hammered a line drive to the right-center field wall for a double. Nolan Gorman then went the other way on a 2-strike count dumping a single into left field scoring Burleson making it 5-1 St. Louis.
Masyn Winn then ripped a double to left field moving Gorman over the third. That knocked starter Chris Paddack out of the game for Miami as they turned to the bullpen for help. Former Cardinal John King kept the Cardinals from adding any more runs as he was able to get Nathan Church out on a ball that almost floated over second baseman Edwards.
Jordan Walker’s arm was featured yet again in the bottom of the 5th inning when Jakob Marsee singled to right, but Jordan fired the ball back into the infield to Gorman who was able to catch Marsee venturing too far off of first base and he was tagged out in a rundown which was a key play in keeping Miami from scoring again.
Other than the awkward first inning home run to Marsee, Dustin May had nasty stuff (in a good way) as he only allowed 6 hits through 5 1/3 innings, struck out 5, only walked 1 and only gave up 1 earned run. The Marlins did make solid contact, but had little to show for it. Justin Bruihl was brought in to finish off the bottom of the 6th inning and he was able to get a groundout and a flyout to keep the game 5-1 Cardinals. Bruihl would also stay in the game through the bottom of the 7th and held the Marlins scoreless although 2 did reach base after he hit them.
Ryan Stanek was brought in to deal with the Marlins in the bottom of the 8th inning. He began by striking out Lopez, but then gave up back-to-back walks. After getting another strikeout, he walked another to load the bases. He then gave up a two-run single to Heriberto Hernández making it 5-3 Cardinals before he was removed by manager Oli Marmol. Here’s a fun fact: the name Stanek is of Slavic origin and means “one who achieves glory” which has yet to happen for the Cardinals. George Soriano was brought in to stop the run hemorrhaging which he did by striking out Norby. Riley O’Brien closed out the Marlins in the bottom of the 9th to seal the Cardinals 5-3 victory for his 7th save with some help from Pedro Pagés who made good use of the ABS system on a crucial 2-strike call. The win moves the Cardinals to 14-9 on the young season.
St. Louis will try to win the series Wednesday when they send Kyle Leahy to the mound against Janson Junk who will make the start for Miami. First pitch scheduled for 11:10am central time Wednesday.
